On Monday night in New York City, former Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari made her first red carpet appearance since giving birth to her first baby girl, Saylor James Cutler, in November and, like the name of her just-released book implies, the star really is Balancing in Heels ($16; amazon.com).

Yes, the 29-year-old mom of three (she also has two sons) recently revealed she’s now prone to wearing more comfortable shoes (“I’m actually in flats probably more than heels since I’ve become a mom, but I still do love my heels,” she told InStyle), however, this look proved she’s still the stylish and ultra confident star we all grew up watching. For the Bella magazine cover party, the newly-minted author rocked a shimmery fringe Rebecca Minkoff dress with Emerald Duv jewels (she created the gilded staples) and (what else?) namesake Chinese Laundry black lace-up sandals.

“NYC nights tomorrow is a big day….! #BalancingInHeels #BookTour #KickOff,” she wrote alongside the below ‘gram of her evening-appropriate getup.

And while Cavallari’s post-pregnancy look showcases a fresh-faced glow, the budding entrepreneur loved carrying each of her three children. “I really embraced the bump. I thought it was really cute to show it off and to wear tighter clothes, more form-fitting clothes, and just really play it up since it’s such a short amount of time in your life,” she told InStyle of her maternity style. “It’s definitely hard towards the end just because you get so big, especially the first pregnancy, it’s a little bit more difficult; but with the second and third I already had a ton of maternity clothes and I knew exactly what was going to happen to my body. I knew what to expect and so in that sense it was just a lot easier, you learn how to dress for the bump.”

Don’t think she’s keeping her baby bump dressing skills a secret, though. In fact, the reality TV cool girl is dishing on all things style to another pregnant fellow star of The Hills: Audrina Patridge. “She’s asking me for advice and so that’s been really fun for me,” she told us. Talk about a totally full circle moment.